User Profile

Strakul

Strakul@wyrms.de

Joined 2 years, 5 months ago

Science fiction and fantasy. Astronomical Data Scientist at STScI/MAST in Baltimore. Opinions are my own. Follow me on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@VirStrakul Longer reviews on my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/

#Astronomy #Books #Gaming #Fantasy #SciFi

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Strakul's books

Currently Reading

2024 Reading Goal

Success! Strakul has read 16 of 12 books.

reviewed Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)

Brandon Sanderson: Dawnshard (Hardcover, 2021, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 5 stars

From Brandon Sanderson―author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive and its fourth …

An interesting seafaring adventure in Roshar

5 stars

I've been re-reading The Stormlight Archive to prepare for the upcoming novel and had missed this one. It's quite fun and very intriguing on what it reveals, both for Roshar and the Cosmere.

For a longer review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/10/book-review-dawnshard-by-brandon.html

reviewed Spellbreaker by Blake Charlton (Spellwright trilogy -- bk. 3)

Blake Charlton: Spellbreaker (2016, Tor Books) 5 stars

Leandra Weal has a bad habit of getting herself in dangerous situations. While hunting neodemons …

Writing magic in a tropical island to wrap up the trilogy

5 stars

This was a great concluding chapter to the Spellwright series. It has a bit of everything in it with a plot that moves at a good pace with plenty of surprises. It has both new and recognizable characters and an intricate setting with a tropical island nation. Overall, this was a pretty good trilogy and something I can recommend others to read.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/09/book-review-spellbreaker-by-blake.html

Blake Charlton: Spellbound (Paperback, 2012, Tor Fantasy) 4 stars

Even more magical text, now with dragons

4 stars

An exciting continuation of the Spellwright saga with even more magical text to learn about. Despite the time jump, it doesn't feel too removed from the prior novel and we still benefit from getting new characters. The plot and characters are improved and the setting is interesting. The only thing that I think may drag it down is some forays into political intrigue that feel half-baked.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/08/book-review-spellbound-by-blake-charlton.html

Blake Charlton: Spellwright (Hardcover, 2010, Tor Books) 4 stars

The consequences of misspelling magic

4 stars

This was quite an interesting novel. It takes some familiar elements of fantasy, like druids, demons, dragons, etc but spins them around an intriguing magic known as spellwriting. The plot is fairly basic, but with some twists and turns and the characters are decent enough. The main selling point is the amount of detail spent into describing how the magic works and how it ties into everything that's going on.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/08/book-review-spellwright-by-blake.html